How to Remove Search.hfastrecipefinder.com Hijacker

Can’t Remove Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Search.hfastrecipefinder.com Removal instructions!

Search.hfastrecipefinder.com is supposed to be an alternative search engine which should help its users to find numerous free recipes. Unfortunately, it is not efficient. The recipe part is a facade. A disguise which camouflages a parasite. This website is the face of a nasty browser hijacker. If it has replaced your homepage, you have a reason to worry. This intruder sneaks into your computer through trickery and gets in control of your web browser. The hijacker alerts your settings, changes your homepage and replaces your default search engine. Once settled, it initiates an aggressive ad bombardment. This intruder is programmed to generate revenue through a pay-per-click scheme. It gets paid for every advert you click on. And so, the Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker floods its victims with advertisements. It injects various ads on every web page you load, redirects your traffic to sponsored pages and even dares to pause your online videos for commercial breaks. It can ruin your browsing experience. Every time you as much as touch your browser, dozens of pop-ups cover your screen. But wait, that is not the worst of it. These are just the obvious ads. There is more, hidden sponsored content which lures you into paying for unneeded services and items. The Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker injects fake entries among the search results you are provided with. These entries are adverts, yet, they are not marked as such. With the hijacker on board, you can never be sure which results are organic and which are adverts. The parasite turns you into an easy target. Do not put up with this situation. Protect yourself. Remove the hijacker for good!

How did I get infected with?

The Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker is sneaky. This parasite cannot install itself, so it lures you into installing it unintentionally. The thing about hijackers is that these parasites have restrictions. They cannot get on board without the user’s permission. So, they turn to trickery. The Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker is a typical representative of the category. It sneaks behind your back and steals your permission. How? Through torrents, software bundles, emails, and fake updates. This pest relies on your naivety. It uses deceptive language and misleading visuals. Many software developers, for example, attach additional programs to the payload files of their apps. These extras, however, are often malicious. The hijacker is one such extra. You would not install it so, the crooks hide it behind tabs and buttons. When you start the installation of a bundle, you would be asked to choose between Advanced and Standard installation option. Which one do you usually prefer? If your answer is the Standard, change your habits. This process is completely automatic. Once started, you lose control over it. The Setup Wizard installs all extra apps. Your explicit approval is not needed, so, you are not even asked. The extras get installed and load immediately. You have no time to act. Your caution, of course, can prevent this scenario from unfolding. All you should do it to pay close attention to the installation process. Select the Advanced option. Under it, you will be presented with a list of all additional apps. Deselect these extras. Make sure you install trustworthy apps.

Why is this dangerous?

The Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker interferes with your online activities. It bombards you with adverts. Every page you visit, every link you follow, every video you watch, everything is flooded with ads. You cannot get a simple task done without getting interrupted. The parasite turns your browsing into a nightmare. And if you know what the hijacker does behind your back, you probably have trouble falling asleep. The hijacker jeopardizes your privacy. If you have read its Terms and Conditions, you know that it contains dozens of data collection disclaimers. This parasite tracks your every online step. It knows which websites you visit, what search inquiries you make, what videos you watch. The more time it spends on your computer, the more likely it is to record sensitive and even personally identifiable information. Unfortunately, this data has a use. The hijacker uses it as a base for ad-targeting. Anyone willing to pay can use the parasite and its resources to target you with customized marketing campaigns. Numerous crooks do. They use the hijacker to spread misleading and false adverts. They also redirect web traffic to scam and potentially infected websites. With the Search.hfastrecipefinder.com hijacker on board, you are more likely to end up on a bogus web page than on a legitimate one. This intruder is too hazardous to be kept on board. Remove it before it lures you into some online scam.

How to Remove Search.hfastrecipefinder.com virus

The Search.hfastrecipefinder.com infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Search.hfastrecipefinder.com infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Search.hfastrecipefinder.com related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Search.hfastrecipefinder.com startup location

STEP 3: Delete Search.hfastrecipefinder.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Search.hfastrecipefinder.com related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Search.hfastrecipefinder.com startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Search.hfastrecipefinder.com virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Search.hfastrecipefinder.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Search.hfastrecipefinder.com by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Search.hfastrecipefinder.com

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Search.hfastrecipefinder.com, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Search.hfastrecipefinder.com argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Search.hfastrecipefinder.com Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.